Dynamic reconfiguration of system-on-chip devices

The system-on-chip devices represent the future of embedded design due to their specific features: integration of analogue and digital blocks along with an 8-bit or 16-bit microcontroller core. By using of such devices, the designer is not allowed to configure an entire acquisition system inside on chip (including filters, ADC\´s, UART\´s and user interface) but is allowed to dynamically re-configure the system taking into consideration the specific needs of the project. The paper presents theoretical and experimental aspects related to the dynamic re-configuration of system-on-chip devices. The "morphing" feature of such devices is implemented using writing or re-writing the configuration table on specific flash memory locations. The paper presents the detailed anatomy of the "morphing" process along with an experimental example: the "morphing" pin. The example shows how to easily change the pin\´s configuration (from analogue input to analogue output, or digital I/O, or even modulated output) by using simple user-friendly serial commands. The proposed design can implement a one-chip-solution of a user configurable sensor system with increased flexibility and versatility.